


Cirque du Somme

by JustJackboot



Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: Acrobat!Will Schofield, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Circus, Angst, Awkward Flirting, M/M, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, The Convoy Boys, Tom is Baby, Unresolved Romantic Tension, William Schofield Needs a Hug, but also kind of not, i included way too many characters someone help, joe is a good brother, will is shy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25435576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustJackboot/pseuds/JustJackboot
Summary: After Tom's mother dies, he goes to find Joe, who had run away to join a circus years ago. He tries to adjust to his new life surrounded by odd people from odd places with all sorts of talents and is captivated by one of the performers- an acrobat. Will Tom find his own talent? Can he fit into this strange new family? Will he find love?(For the sake of this AU- we're going to pretend circuses were ethical and that all animals involved were treated well and lived happily)
Relationships: Tom Blake/William Schofield
Comments: 16
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been poking around in my brain for a while so I decided to share what I've written so far- a slow burn blakefield Circus AU!! with wayy too many minor characters (in classic 1917 fandom fashion)!! I've got a vague outline and am open to suggestions of what could potentially happen later down the line. For now, I hope you enjoy!!

In a flattened field, awash with the deep blue of evening, Tom approaches the warm golden glow of tall, striped tents and lively music. He pauses at the entrance, gazing up at the painted sign overhead which reads: ‘Cirque du Somme’ in bold, shameless letters. It’s familiar— he’d spent long nights running his fingers over those same letters on a postcard Joe sent him years ago, worrying about how his older brother was doing. God, has it really been seven years? Tom is so close to seeing Joe again and all he needs to do is step through this damn entrance.

He clutches the strap of his bag, filled mostly with food alongside a few of his essential belongings. Would Joe even want to see him? No— he shouldn’t be thinking of that now. He’s come too far and at this point, he has no other options. Not wanting to waste another moment, Tom marches up to the ticket booth and is met with a tired looking chap with heavy eyes and a somewhat vacant stare. He has a scarf wrapped snugly around his neck and seems to melt into it.

“Uhm… hi— could I get a ticket, please?” Tom asks, fondling the few coins in his pocket as he reads the prices written on the poster behind the lad’s head.

“S’that just one for you, sir?” the other boy slurs, giving Tom a slow blink.

 _What a welcome._ “Yeah, just me. All on my lonesome…” Christ— what is he saying? He really needs to shut up sometimes. He distracts himself by pulling out three coins and sliding them over the short desk of the booth.

The boy in the booth pauses for a few seconds before sighing and reaching for a coil of tickets. “Right…” he tears one off and hands it to Tom. “Enjoy, then.”

“Thanks a lot, mate.” He says, tossing the lad a bright smile. He looks like he could use some good attitude.

Tom feels his hands tremble in anticipation and quickly tucks his ticket inside his jacket pocket. He’s _here_. And so is Joe. Though looking around at the seemingly endless row of colourful tents and booths, he realises he isn’t exactly sure _where_ Joe is exactly.

There’s a small stage to his left where a crowd has gathered. A tall, muscular man is lifting enormous weights like he’s picking up kittens. He invites two men from the audience to join him onstage, asking them to sit in baskets connected by a metal rod. Once they’re seated, he works at lifting the basket barbell up. The crowd comes alive with encouraging shouts and cheers when he successfully hoists the weight of two fully-grown men above his head with a triumphant expression. Tom gawks and imagines how much his mum would’ve loved to have someone like him carry crates of cherries up and down the orchard. Immediately, Tom’s heart clenches. He’ll have to tell Joe about mum, as well.

Moving backwards, away from the crowd, Tom cries out as he slams into someone and hears several things thump onto the ground.

“Oi! Watch where you’re goin’ you little—”

“Butler, it’s alright.”

“It’s bloody _not_! This idiot could’ve taken my eye out!”

“You’d be better off— all that time you spend looking at yourself in the mirror and all...”

“Watch it, Malky.”

Tom watches the two men dressed in nothing but tight, blue and white chequered trousers bicker back and forth as they pick up sticks and plates off the ground. He tries to help them but the man with the moustache— Butler, sneers viciously at him. “Sorry! I didn’t mean—”

The other, kinder looking of the two— Malky, brushes him off, “Nah, don’t worry about it, mate. You were distracted is all.” He gestures to the man Tom had been watching earlier, “Atkins can do some pretty impressive stuff.”

Butler lets out a scoff. “Don’t let Parry hear you say that. He’ll have your head.”

A new voice speaks up, startling all three of them. “I’ll have both your heads if you don’t stop dropping plates in front of my damn tent.”

Tom guesses that this newcomer was Parry; he’s popped his head out from a bohemian looking tent, dressed somewhat like a pirate. The chalkboard sign beside the entrance reads: ‘Come and See Parry! Palm Reader, Psychic, Fortune Teller! Find out what lies in your future!’

He feels compelled to ask, “Can you really see the future?”

“’course he can’t—” Butler’s growl is cut off by Parry, who speaks loudly as a group of people walk by.

“— can! Of course I _can_ see futures!” he lowers his voice so no one but Tom and the other two performers can hear him. “Don’t jeopardise my act here or I’ll throw rocks at you while you’re balanced on a broomstick.”

“So are you two acrobats, then?” Tom asks.

Malky shakes his head, “Nah, we do balancing acts. Though they’re trying to get us to do this new spinning plate trick that the Chinese circuses are on about. S’harder than it looks.”

“If an acrobat is what you want you’d best catch the performance at the big top in about an hour or two.” Says Parry, pointing to the largest tent set up at the centre of the circus.

Maybe Joe was at the big top! He’d written Tom a letter vaguely mentioning how he’d gotten to do a performance. Tom’s heart races. He’s one step closer. _God_ he misses him. “I’m actually looking for my brother, Joseph Blake. D’you know where I could find him?” He hopes he’s still here— please let him still be here.

“Blake? Yea, he’s probably down by the animal wagons.” Mutters Butler, picking at his cuticles. “Didn’t know he had a brother.” Tom breathes a sigh of relief, ignoring the pang in his chest at the second comment.

“Probably,” Malky agrees. “you’ll want to head to the back of the big top— that’s where all the wagons and trailers are. If you don’t find him by the animal wagons then he’s probably already setting up for the show.”

A massive grin spreads across his face, he’s unable to stop himself from pulling Malky into a fierce hug and frantically thanking all three shocked men before bounding away like a rabbit.

He makes his way around the big red-and-white striped tent, nearly tripping over the ropes nailed to the ground in his haste. A few performers and stagehands are milling about, carrying props or sporting ridiculous outfits. Tom weaves by them, searching for Joe’s familiar figure. Would he still be familiar? How much had he changed? What if Tom can’t recognise his own brother anymore? What if Joe doesn’t recognise _him_?

A tiger stalks towards the big top, escorted by a sturdily-built man clutching the leash attached to its bedazzled collar. Animals means he was probably getting close. He scans the faces of people around him but still can’t find Joe. Where is he? Why isn’t he here? What if Tom never finds him? How would he—

“Up! Good girl!”

That voice.

“Joe?” Tom spins around and sees his brother, dressed like a damn queen’s guard, stroking a small, spotted dog. He freezes at Tom’s voice and turns around as well.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, but it feels like it’s stretching to eternity— paper thin. Joe quietly gasps, “Tom? Is that really you?” his eyes wide with disbelief.

Tom feels his bottom lip quiver, nods and rushes into his brother’s open arms. They embrace and suddenly Tom is ten again, clinging to Joe and burying his face into his big brother’s chest after taking a tumble off of a cherry tree. Sobs sneak in between their laughs. Joe squeezes him tight before pulling back, holding Tom at arm’s length and taking in the sight of him with glimmering eyes. “Christ, you’ve grown.” He sniffles. Tom Aches.

Tom can barely see his brother’s face, vision blurring with tears. “I missed you, Joe.”

“Good Lord, I missed you too Tommy.” Joe hugs him again, briefly this time around. “What are you doing here? I can’t believe mum let you come all the way out here to—” he stops at Tom’s sombre expression and strokes up and down his little brother’s arm; the same as he used to do when he’d sneak into Joe’s bed during a thunderstorm or after a bad dream. “Hey… what’s happened?”

The dog Joe had been feeding nudges its snout against Tom’s lax hand, whimpering. Tom obliges, giving it a few scratches behind the ears. He can’t look Joe in the eye as he does this. He takes a deep breath, then says: “Mum’s gone.”

Joe pauses for a long moment, his hand has gone still and Tom can tell even after all these years that Joe is doing that thing with his face where he squints and furrows his brows and _Christ_ is it good to actually feel like he knows him like the back of his hand; like these long years of separation and silence didn’t happen.

“What do you mean ‘mum’s gone’?” His voice comes out steady but Tom catches his hands trembling from the corner of his eye.

What Tom says next comes out in one rushed exhale. “I mean mum’s been really sick for a long time and I’ve come to find you ‘cos she left you the orchard and the house ‘cos I’m too young to inherit anything but you weren’t there so we ended up losing it all and I couldn’t—” He chokes, throat closing up and eyes burning. Joe is there immediately, pulling him close, hushing him and with his chin resting on Tom’s head. He’s murmuring something but Tom can’t make it out. He realises one of them is trembling but he isn’t sure who it is. Maybe it’s both of them. Tom whimpers, “You weren’t there, Joe. Why weren’t you there?”

“Shh… I’m sorry, Tommy. It’ll be okay, alright? I promise. I had to leave… I couldn’t— I didn’t want to be stuck on that orchard forever. I’m sorry— Christ— I shouldn’t have gone the way I did, without saying goodbye. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. But we’re both here now. You can stay with me as long as you want, okay?”

Tom nods, sniffling. He takes a few deep breaths to calm down before leaning away from Joe’s touch, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Can’t believe you actually went and joined a bloody circus.” He mumbles.

Joe barks out a laugh, “Yeah! I can barely believe it myself most days.” Joe grins at him and he has to try his damn hardest not to return it. “I’m glad you’re here, Tom.”

He’s surprised by his brother’s sincerity. This is going to be a fresh start for them. A chance to rebuild what they’d lost and have it stand stronger than ever. Tom finds himself smirking. “Me too.”

The dog barks between them, Joe bends down to pick it up. “Sorry about Myrtle— she’s a menace.” He says as she licks his face. Tom reaches over to scratch under her chin, amused when she tips her head back against Joe’s shoulder and lets her tongue loll from the side of her mouth.

“I think you’re the menace here. Look how spoiled she is!”

“Well she’s the hardest working! She deserves a bit of coddling now and then.” Joe rubs her belly before setting her on the ground again.

“You teach the dogs tricks, then?”

“Not just dogs.” Joe smirks.

Tom remembers the tiger and suddenly the image of Joe teaching it to roll over and jump through hoops makes his eyes widen. “No!”

“We’ve got all sorts ‘round here. You’ll meet them all eventually.”

“All sorts? Like what?”

“Oh you know, tigers, elephants, lions—”

“Lions?!”

“— horses, monkeys, birds, bears—”

“You know how to make them all balance on a beach ball and do flips and all that?”

“More or less…”

“How have you not been eaten by now?”

“Well it’s not just me who takes care of them. But it is a handful.”

A woman emerges from the big top wearing a glittering, bright blue jumpsuit. Her hair is done up in a tight bun with a flowing strip of sheer fabric hanging from it. She approaches them and Tom notes the blue glitter applied in a curve from her temples to her cheekbones. Her gait is delicate and confident all at once. “Hepburn is looking for you. We are starting soon.” She says with a lilting accent.

“Right, I’ll go see him in a bit. How’s tonight?” asks Joe.

“Full House.” The woman says with a winning smile.

“Wonderful. Let’s hope the birds are in a good mood tonight, eh?” Joe looks from the woman to Tom and lets out a little gasp. “God, sorry… let me introduce you two. Lauri, this is my baby brother Tom. Tom, this is Lauri.”

Tom panics for a split second before nodding awkwardly and blurting: “Pleasure.”

Lauri, to her credit, doesn’t seem phased at all and simply replies with: “Likewise.”

“Well,” says Joe, “I’m off. Tom, feel free to come and watch the performances.”

“I did buy a ticket so I’m hoping to get my money’s worth.”

Lauri laughs; it’s bright and comes easily. “You better hope the birds aren’t in a good mood, then.” She leans over to Tom, “Last time we had an audience this full the birds attacked your brother— it was the funniest thing!”

Joe turns red as ever and Tom decides right then and there that he and Lauri would be friends, if only to tease Joe together. His brother leaves with a huff and a list of half-baked excuses about ‘those bastard birds’ and disappears into the big top. Lauri turns to him and offers a smile. She invites him to accompany her in finding her tightrope-walking pole. They walk to an area where more detached train carriages are set up— this must be where a majority of the performers stay. He wonders which carriage is Joe’s and if there’d be enough space for them to share or if he’d be able to get his own (what a dream that would be).

“Tightrope-walking, huh? Seems terrifying to me. How d’you do it?”

Lauri shrugs, “I don’t know, it’s much easier than doing the trapeze. Less room for mistakes or accidents.”

Tom turns to her, amazed. “Trapeze? Like swinging around and doing acrobatics in mid-air!?”

“Yes. I am a tightrope-walker, contortionist, and a trapeze artist.”

“Contortionist!? Bloody hell, you’ve got a bit of a scary skill set.” Lauri laughs as they come to a carriage with an arrangement of props leaned up against it and stacked into piles on the ground. She digs through them, looking for her balancing pole.

“Everyone has a scary skill here. That’s what people pay to see.” She says.

“That’s fair.” He leans against the wooden trailer frame. “How’d you even figure out you could do this stuff? I mean it’s not like there’s a school where you can learn how to perform for a circus. Did you run away and join? Or did you have to apply for a spot like you would’ve with a job? D’you guys get holidays? I had a friend once who told me he’d joined the circus for a week and that you guys get no breaks. I wouldn’t be able to pull that off. Especially—”

“I can see that Joe is going to have a good time trying to keep the animals and now his little brother in check. I was raised in a performing family, though a fair few of us here are runaways. I can’t speak for everyone but since you are with us now you can get to know everyone.”

“So your family ran a circus? That reminds me: where are you from? I can’t quite place the accent.”

“I’m from France. And no, my family doesn’t run a circus. I’ve just been part of a travelling circus for as long as I can remember.”

Tom catches the unspoken meaning. “No parents, then?” he asks tentatively.

Lauri purses her lips and shakes her head. “Like I said, the circus is like a big family for many of us.” She exclaims when she finds one end of the balancing pole. “And you’re the newest member, hmm?”

Tom blinks a few times. “I suppose so… Not sure I have any scary skills worth mentioning, though.” He leans down to one of the piles of props and picks up a juggling club. “Think I could learn to juggle before the week is out?” he flips it in the air and flinches when a dagger lodges itself in the wood beside his head. He turns to where it had been thrown from to see a fuming man barrelling towards them. _Blimey, these people are crazy._

“Was macht dieser Junge hier hinten?” he growls. Tom looks to Lauri for help but she just rolls her eyes and shrugs. The man is leaning uncomfortably close to Tom now, looking down his nose at him while yanking the dagger free from beside his head. “Er ist nicht Teil der Gruppe— er darf unsere Sachen nicht berühren!”

Two young men come running from across the camp. The older looking of the two pants, flops onto the grass and takes a swig from a flask while the younger one, blonde hair in disarray, pulls the other man away from Tom. “Aldo, beruhige dich!” he says, trying to pry the dagger from Aldo’s hand.

Aldo pulls his hand away and gestures to Tom with the knife, “Nein! Er sollte nicht hier sein!”

“Ich werde mich darum kümmern. Geh und finde Rossi.” Orders the blonde boy.

Aldo huffs and storms off. Tom is stunned, heart still racing. “Th- Thank you… for that…”

Lauri, having successfully dug her balancing pole out from the piles of equipment, holds it horizontally. “Don’t mind Aldo, he’s always annoyed at something. The three of them are from Germany. This is Baumer,” she nods at the blonde boy, “and that is Müller.” She nods at the man collapsed on the ground, flask pressed to his breast.

Baumer nods once and shakes Tom’s hand. “Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen.” He’s got a boyish charm to him— undoubtedly handsome by any standard. He seems like the type to get appreciative looks from everyone.

Tom blinks a few times before smiling at the boy. “So what act d’you guys do?”

Baumer makes a circular gesture with his arms and stutters as he tries to find the words to explain. “Erm… German— was ist es? Cyr wheels!” he picks up on Tom’s confused expression and scans the piles of props until he finds the big hoop he was referring to. He holds it up and stares at Tom with wide, hope-filled eyes. Tom nods even though he hasn’t the slightest clue what the wheels are even for. Baumer grins anyway.

“Will you be performing tonight?” Tom asks.

“Aufführen? Ja, wir müssen uns nur umziehen— change?” Baumer tugs at the front of his shirt.

“Oh! You need to change into your costumes?”

“Ja!” the boy exclaims, “sehr gut!”

From the grass by his feet, Müller rouses— muttering words Tom can’t begin to understand. Baumer sighs and tries to lift him by a limp arm. “Hey Müller, steh auf! Komm schon!” Eventually the older man gets to his feet, sour face twisted into a scowl as he takes the hoop from Baumer with a grunt. Baumer quickly finds another hoop and they walk off towards one of the carriages.

Tom’s not been here for long and he can already tell that living among so many odd people will shape up to be the most interesting experience of his life. He’d expected to stay with Joe at some point but the addition of a whole circus came as a surprise. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long for the performers to warm up to him. Apart from Aldo, everyone seems to like him just fine. Lauri smiles at him and nods towards the big top. “Come, we’ll be starting soon and you’ll want to get the good seats.”

“I’ve never been to a circus before, only ever seen one pass by town when I was really young.” Tom only vaguely remembers a brilliant parade of colourful costumes and thrilling acts. Mum didn’t let him or Joe go but Tom remembers being woken up that night by Joe creeping through their bedroom window. He hadn’t noticed Joe even leave but he came back with marvellous stories to tell and excitement sparkling in his eyes.

“If you’re sticking with us, you are going to see a lot more of our acts. In fact, you’ll see us train every day and probably get bored of it all before the month is out!” Lauri laughs.

“Nah… I don’t think circus acts ever get boring. But it will take some getting used to.”

They slip into the big top and Tom is swept away by the bustle of people running back and forth with various props (some of which are sharp, others being literally _on fire_ ) or armfuls of sequined costumes and ribbons. Lauri must notice how overwhelmed he is by the whole scene and places a hand on his arm, leaning in so he can hear her better. “You should go through there,” she points to an opening between two overlapping layers of fabric. “It will take you to the main stage, you can pick a seat and come join us back here once the show is over, oui?”

Nodding dumbly, Tom cautiously makes his way through, not wanting to get in anyone’s way or interrupt the flow of preparations. The audience seating area is intensely lit by spotlights hanging from the metal rigs overhead, there’s a band in one corner tuning up their instruments as people begin to trickle through the main entrance of the massive tent. Tom chooses a seat front and centre; not wanting to miss a second of what will unfold tonight. Sitting and waiting, looking around at the setup of the lights and the stage already feels like he’s witnessing some sort of larger-than-life spectacle. He can’t believe he’s really here. It’s so surreal; the only reason he isn’t completely convinced that this is a dream is because if it _is_ one, he’d most definitely have popcorn with him. Or some chips… or a nice slice of pie. Christ, he’s hungry. But once the band finishes tuning up and launches into an exciting song, Tom can’t help but forget about how hungry he is.


	2. The Spectacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of shameless circus performance stuff...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been extremely stressed with various things the universe has thrown at me the past few months. But I finally have some free time so I'm excited to get back on the horse. Hopefully I can deliver another update soon!

Once the seats around him have been filled— and Lauri was right about it being a full house tonight because bloody _hell_ it’s packed—the spotlights turn towards the stage, some alternating between colours. The band starts an energetic number and the crowd quiets down. A short, rather portly man waltzes up on a decorated platform at centre stage. He wears a swallowtail coat— deep-blue velvet with silver-studded lapels and a waistcoat which looks like it’s made of some sort of foil. With a white-gloved hand, he plucks his top hat from his head, reaches in, and pulls out a single Poppy. The crowd cheers when he reveals it to them. He strides to one side of the audience and gives the flower to a little girl before returning to where he was, a bright smile on his face.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here today! We’ve travelled long and far to be able to bring you the never-before seen acts you are about to witness…” the crowd lets out an intrigued ‘Ooh’ and the man nods, “In due time, of course. Before we begin I must warn you that these acts are dangerous— potentially life-threatening— and should never be attempted by anyone without experience. Now, without further ado, let me introduce our two funniest brothers: Scooter and Sparks!” He sweeps his arm in a welcoming motion as two clowns bumble upstage, then disappears behind the curtain.

Tom recognises one of the two clowns as the sleepy boy form the ticket booth. It seems like this trait of his extends to his clown persona because his makeup and hunched posture reflect it. It’s obvious, looking at the two clowns, that the sleepy boy is Scooter and the other is Sparks. Sparks wears a loose yellow jumpsuit with red polkadots and oversized shoes, his hair done up in spikes while Scooter wears a blue and green striped jumpsuit with a fluffy, cloud-like wig.

Tom laughs along with the audience as Sparks comes up with plans to keep Scooter from sleeping, failing spectacularly as his ‘brother’ manages to sleep in ridiculous, impossible circumstances. At one point, Sparks circles Scooter on a unicycle, throwing eggs at him while Scooter effortlessly catches each one and juggles up to eighteen eggs, yawning (to Sparks’ exaggerated annoyance). By the end of it, Tom is wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. He hasn’t laughed this hard in what feels like years!

The clowns drive away in an obscenely small car, tooting a tiny horn at the ringmaster when he re-emerges from backstage, laughing along with the audience. “Aren’t they something? While Sparks can sure impress us with his unicycle, I’m sure you’ll all be even more astonished by our next act! Coming all the way from Germany to bring you these spectacular tricks are Baumer and Müller!”

Tom applauds and cheers when they come out dressed in white slacks, carrying the hoops above their heads. Müller looks a lot better than he did earlier, standing up straight and grinning proudly. They do tricks and manoeuvre with the wheels so confidently that it seems easy. Though Tom has no doubt that if he even tried it he’d faceplant or get dizzy and end up embarrassing himself. Not for the first time that night, he wonders what would make him special among this crowd of such vast talents.

A man wearing a black suit and a tophat is introduced as the next act. He pulls various things out of impossible places and makes a few volunteers from the audience disappear then reappear. Tom reckons he could probably learn to do some of these— maybe he could ask the man if he needed an assistant or an apprentice.

The next act involves two men (one of them being Aldo, who was nice enough to have given Tom a first-hand experience) throwing knives at each other. The audience would gasp at the near misses and cringe when they handled the knives too quickly or roughly. At one point, the red-haired man swallowed a sword! Everyone seemed to clutch their throats in sympathy. After they bowed, a Sikh man appears and breathes bloody _fire_. There was no way it was possible! The man easily spins flaming spears, swings them in great orange arcs through the air. Tom’s never seen anything like it!

Next up is Joe, with his winning smile and a parade of animals. Tom watches, in awe at what his big brother’s learned over these years. The way he interacts with lions and tigers as if they’re nothing but housecats, the slight indications he gives the birds to get them to arrange themselves in elaborate flight routines. As Joe jumps and runs around with a pack of tiny, dressed-up dogs, Tom sees how _happy_ he is. He feels his smile drop for a moment; Joe was happy here without him. Would Tom being here change that? What if Tom couldn’t find a skill he was good enough at and the circus decided that he couldn’t stay with them? Would Joe leave him again?

The crowd applauds and Tom is snapped out of his spiralling doubt. He sees Joe bow and stands up from his seat to whoop. Joe spots him in the crowd and grins even brighter. It settles his nerves a bit. For now, at least, Joe is glad he’s here.

Tom is just wondering whether Butler and Malky will perform their spinning plates when the spotlights slide up to point at them standing on opposite ends of some metal rigs. There’s a safety net pulled across the bottom. A slight glitter from the light reveals a tightrope across the rigs. Lauri must be up next! Tom searches but frowns when he can’t spot her. Butler and Malky step onto their ends of the tightrope and slowly make their way towards each other, meeting somewhat in the middle, balancing poles tilting side to side. All of a sudden, Lauri is lowered between them from what looks like a trapeze bar. She plants one foot on Butler’s shoulder and the other on Malky’s and by some miracle, all three of them manage to stay balanced on the quivering line. Tom’s heart flutters as Lauri starts to bend backwards, catching her leg. She’s contorted so far back that Tom wonders if she has a spine at all.

She switches to a handstand on Butler’s shoulders, the tightrope bouncing slightly as her weight shifts. Malky inches back to his platform on the right, which is now also occupied by a boy with dark blonde hair. He’s wearing the same glittery bright blue jumpsuit as Lauri. He swings another trapeze bar towards her and she catches it with her legs, knees hooked, before swinging back off of Butler’s shoulders. She extends her arms with a flourish and the crowd applauds.

Butler treads carefully back onto the opposite platform. Lauri, who has switched to her hands so she can use her legs to keep swinging, flips forward and catches the bar she came down on easily, surprising the delighted audience. The bar carries her to Butler’s platform, which she lands on with a graceful twirl. Butler catches the bar before it swings back.

The spotlight moves to Malky’s platform, light catching in the glittery material of the other man’s blue jumpsuit. Butler throws the other bar and the man does a little hop before plunging in a great arc towards the middle. Tom’s breath hitches; only just taking in this absolute vision of a bloke. Although he’s too high up for Tom to be able to clearly make out his face, he can appreciate the sheer _athleticism_ in his movements.

The rigs shift and the tightrope disappears. To the right, the man is still swinging confidently while to the left Lauri has gotten down onto the platform with Butler. He holds the bar for her. The blond man does a 180 degree flip, facing backwards, then does it again, facing forwards. The crowd applauds. He then pulls himself up and leans forward slightly, balancing his body on the moving bar by his hips before curling in and rolling around it. When he extends his body on the upswing to the right, he lands on the platform with a flourish that drives the audience wild. Tom is taken aback— not just by the incredible acrobatics he’s been doing, but by the pleased smile he shoots their way. He feels his face heat up. He’d have to ask Lauri who he was after the performance was over. Maybe she could introduce him?

He nods at Butler, who pulls the bar he’s been holding back. The blond bounces on the balls of his feet a few times before swinging towards the middle. He hooks his legs over the bar so he’s hanging from it with his knees. Once he extends his arms, Butler throws his bar towards the blond, timing it perfectly so the other boy can catch it when he reaches his arms back and catches it solidly, unhooking his knees just in time. Tom can’t help but wonder how muscular his thighs must be. He quickly shakes his head. What the hell… why can’t he get a grip?

The blond boy hangs from his knees again, extends his arms back again, and this time Lauri leaps into his arms. Tom’s heart sinks and he’s breathing shakily by the time Lauri’s hands are securely gripped in the blond’s. They swing back, he all but throws Lauri into the air and she flips. Malky throws the bar to her and she catches it perfectly. The whole performance was riveting and the audience is whistling and cheering loudly. Tom smiles, amazed at the spectacle and proud of Lauri. He catches the blond’s warm smile from where he’s stood on the left platform, bowing with Butler. His heart flutters in his chest.

Lord help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this small update wasn't too boring- I wasn't sure whether people would like or care about the actual performances or anything so do let me know so I don't ramble on and on about flips and spins and the like...

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love some feedback (you can be brutal, I want this story to be the best it can be)  
> But kudos and nice comments are very appreciated :)  
> Also, let me know any tags you think should be added cos while I do plan to update the tags as the story progresses, I'm sure I'll be missing some in any case.


End file.
